Please Join Me In Welcoming Albert Pujols To The 600 Club

Hats off to one of the greatest hitters to ever swing a bat, Albert Pujols. I just want to take a moment to appreciate how good Pujols has been over the course of his career. In his 17th season in the majors, Pujols holds a .308 career batting average.

His average for a single season never dropped below .312 before his 11th season, in which he hit .299. Since then, his batting average has begun to slowly decline. One thing that did not decline were his home run numbers. Pujols hits 39 home runs in an average 162 game season. That is absurd. The man was born to hit the long ball and boy does he do it well.

Now let’s talk about this achievement. Pujols is only the 9th member of the 600 HR club. There’s a reason the club is so exclusive. 600 home runs are ridiculous. 600 is a biblical number. 600 chariots rode towards the Israelites in Pharaoh’s army. 600 soldiers from the tribe of Dan went to conquer Laish.

How much did Goliath’s spearhead weigh in shekels of iron? How many Light Brigadiers charged into the Valley of Death? Yeah, you guessed it… 600. It’s a special number for an incredible feat. It’s a lot. So far in this blog, I’ve written around 200 words. Pujols has hit three home runs for each one.

To top it all off, Pujols decided to not only do it in style with a grand slam but boy oh boy did he admire his work. When you’ve hit that many home runs you know when a ball is going to land on the other side of the fence. He took an extra second or 20 to watch his 600th moon shot enter the left field bleachers. With class, he decided to forego a bat flip and casually dropped the bat after he had walked halfway down the first base line. What a beautiful sight. I only wish I could have seen it from his point of view.

So what is next for Pujols? Is he after the home run crown? He’s 37 and, while still relatively young, he has a long way to go. I believe 700 home runs is within the realm of possibility for Pujols. 763? I personally don’t think so. It would take a good 5 years of 33 home runs each and I simply don’t think he has it in him.

I hope he does, but I don’t think the juice is there. I hope I am proven wrong by one of the greatest to ever pick up a bat. I don’t know if I’m allowed to make this statement, but welcome to the 600 club Albert Pujols.

Ben is a sophomore at Columbia University where he plays baseball. He loves everything about the game and is a little biased toward the Boston Red Sox, Ben has future ambitions of a career in sports media, follow him on Twitter @Ben13Porter